SATA and SATA II

j13860

j13860

New Member
Ok this is kinda embarrassing to ask, but my laptop has a SATA Hard Drive and I want to purchase another HDD, If I buy a SATA2 will the connectors be the same? And will it work the same?
 
That laptop will have a Sata 2 hard drive in it already so its just a matter of replacing it.
 
Thanks

Thanks for the reply but its too late this is what has gone down.


I sent this question to Western Digital, It took a while for them to reply so I called HP.

It was amazing that I was on the phone with someone in less than 5 minutes.

This is a very short overview of the call.

I explain I want to buy a hard drive, and my current hard drive is a SATA and the one I wish to buy is listed as SATA 2.

She looks.

Asks why I want another hdd, I said just in case of the unexpected!

hp:Ok.....Long wait

(hp) What is the specs of your current hdd? me:320 at 5600rpm.
long hold.

HP: I dont get it sir, why are getting another hdd and not an external for backup? me: Well I need an internal one. HP:OK..........Wait.

HP:OK sir what hdd are u planning on buying? me: the SATA 2 western digital WD3500 350GB 5600rpm hdd. HP:OK let me look this up. (looooooooooong wait).

HP: It doesn't make sense sir why do you say u want to upgrade your hard drive but the specs are the same? (so far 20minutes have been spent asking me why I want another HDD) me: Well I'm not upgrading I just want a backup HDD and will have Linux on it.

HP: OOOOOOOHHHHH OK that makes sense sir. (and it didnt before?) long wait

HP:Ok sir that HDD Will work. me: Great! so a SATA 2 HDD will work even though my current HDD says SATA? (I just expected her to say thats correct and be done with it).

HP: Oh you want to replace it with a SATA 2? (I have told her this sooooo many times)


me:yes HP:Let me check (long wait). Ok sir the HDD will NOT work SATA 2 Will not work and it may not even fit in the computer. me:Ok bye.


Now this didnt make any sense at all ,the standard size is 2.5 inch for laptops (height sometimes varies slightly) but In my gut I knew it didnt make sense yet...

I bought a crappy 250 gb SATA hdd for the price of a better 320gb SATA2

Then western digital writes back:

Thank you for contacting Western Digital Customer Service and Support. My name is Pedro D.

SATA-2 hard drives are backwards compatible with SATA-1 controllers. The same is also true with SATA-2 controllers and SATA-1 drives. However, if you have any difficulty with drive detection using a SATA-2 drive on a SATA-1 controller, install a jumper across pins 5-6 to limit the drive to SATA-1 speeds.

Answer Title: Problems encountered installing SATA 3.0 Gb/s hard drives on SATA 1.5 Gb/s controllers
Answer Link: http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1337

Hp needs to get there act together! I spent 30 minutes discussing I wanted a SATA 2, And they asked why, rather than answering the question then the reply didn't make sense at all and Im now stuck with a crappy HDD.

:mad:

ALL in all my fault though.
 
Is this a new laptop within the last few years? If this laptop is only a few years old, it should have a sata 2 hdd in it already. What model of hard drive is in it right now?
 
No your right. My HDD says SATA but I see now that SATA2 hard drives are not listed as sata 2 but rather with a gb transfer rate of 3 rather than 1.5. I confirmed this with others. My current Laptop has a SATA 2 Seagate momentus 320gb even though it just says SATA. This explains why tigerdirect doesnt list drives as SATA 1 or 2 like Amazon, You tell by the data transfer rate. my laptops a week old.

You see my screeming Homer avatar? This is how I feel. :)
 
Most technical support people don't know much at all. All they do is read stuff off a screen. If you really want to know about something, come to a forum like ours. Seems like you are good to go now.
 
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